Marble etches easily although there are coatings that can mitigate this. If you're not bothered by a well-worn look they may be right for you.

There are many other surfaces that resemble marble but outperform it such as solid surface and engineered stone.

polished marble in a kitchen is very likely to get etched (from wine, juice, or vinegar), stained (from practically anything), and scratched (from practically anything). I once showed a customer you could scratch marble by writing on paper with a ball point pen on a marble top.

Honed makes the etching problem a lot less of an issue because the damage is less conspicuous. other characteristics are the same.

There are labrodites that look a lot like marble but don't have the same weak material properties.

The various quartz manufacturers have colors that try to mimic carerra marble but IMHO all fall well short of the beauty of marble. Cosentino supposedly has a new product that is supposed to be a closer match but I haven't seen it yet.

you will have your counters for a long time so take your time and research the options and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

is quartz a natural or manufactured product? so I am still unclear- sounds like people are saying marble gets messed up so is not a good choice- right?

Kate - it depends on your level of comfort with your countertop developing what is affectionately known here as "patina". That is to say - are you the type of person who CAN embrace the fact that you *will* (no matter what if you use the kitchen at all) wind up with your marble showing signs of use? Etching is inevitable with a marble countertop. Is that "messed up" - that depends on who you ask. Some people are fully aware that they will have their counter etch and they embrace that as part of the beauty of their chosen counter. There are other people (many, in fact) who can't come to terms with etching and therefore opt for another type of counter.

If you read here for any length of time, you will see this question and related marble questions come up quite often.

Good luck in deciding what counter is best for you.

can you clarify what etching means? does it stain? for example, if I get tomato sauce on it does it stain forever? or ketchup? or anything? does it start to look dirty? can you clarify what etched means?

Etched is where an acidic substance, like the tomato sauce, dissolves a tiny bit of the stone, leaving it with a rougher more matte texture than the surrounding stone. It cannot be prevented as it's a chemical reaction between the stone and any acids.

KateB22:

Quartz tops (Zodiaq, Silestone, etc.) are natural and manmade. Natural crushed quartz is mixed with resin, formed into slabs, and finished. Unlike natural stone, they do not require sealing and the sample you see is very close to the installed tops in appearance.

thank you for the photos and info. I have read some things even on this forum saying people can get etches out. And others saying they cannot!

thank you for the photos and info. I have read some things even on this forum saying people can get etches out. And others saying they cannot!

Hollysprings, thank you for the photos since I have been wanting Marble also but that etching would bother me a lot!

KateB22: etched marble can be repaired by a professional with the right tools but it requires grinding away the damaged area and then refinishing the newly exposed stone.

"Quartz surface" from any of the various suppliers is a mix of resin (i.e.glue), coloring agents, and various inclusions to give it the specific appearance desired by the manufacturer. The most popular colors are typically the ones that most closely match an existing natural stone. For example, Cambria has a very popular new color "Parys" which is a reasonably close match to a granite called "Blue Pearl." Its attractive but looks washed out and artificial when compared side by side with the actual stone it copies.

Most important is that you pick what you like after taking the time to understand the different material properties. A fabricator that sells both natural stone and quartz is the best source for info since he is not predisposed to sell you one or the other.

Have you ever been to an old hotel or other building that uses marble? Or have you ever traveled to Europe and seen their ubiquitous use of it? That would be a good way to tell how you feel about patina. If you choose to get your marble honed instead of polished it will show etchings slightly less. Sealants can be used that will prevent staining. I was just in a swanky newish (10 years old) hotel that used carrea in its whole bathroom, floors, countertops, shower. It looked great still even with all the people you know are hard on hotel bathrooms. That is what sealed the deal for me. There is just no "fake" stone that looks and feels like marble. Here's someones take on living with marble: http://www.lifeingraceblog.com/2013/04/living-with-marble-countertops-a-cautionary-tale/

Thank you Kam76 for the link. Marble is one of the prettiest stones!

The appearance of etching also depends upon the lighting. We have a marble top in our powder room that has no natural light. There is a ton of etching... but it's not noticeable because of the lighting.

In my kitchen, there is a section of the counter that reflects light from a window for most of the day. Etching there would be obvious. I wasn't brave enough to put marble in the kitchen because the section of the counter that's most highlighted by natural light would magnify the etching. I'll be braver in my next kitchen, though, because I love my powder room marble.

Again, you have to determine your own personal tolerance for etching. This is really what it amounts to.

We also wondered about our desire for marble countertops, and after a lot of angst, jumped in without another thought. Nine months in, etches on the first night (from where our neighbor made a round of lemon drop martinis), odd scratches, one slight chip around the sink, and we LOVE our counters. FYI, we have just short of 68 sqft of counters, polished, and have found bunches of companies that will polish or hone them in place for a reasonable fee.

I am curious to the process involved and equipment needed to re-hone marble. Is this DIY?
What is the cost per square foot to have someone do this?
Thanks

Shouldn't marble not stain if it's sealed? I think the real issues are etching and scratching.

Those pictures are helpful for people, but they should also realize they're kind of the "worst case" scenarios. Carrera will etch, every bit as much as those pictures show, but it usually won't look as bad as those pictures, if that makes any sense. The pictures have to be taken at the right angle to get the etches to show for a picture. That last picture looks so awful because it's stained, which doesn't seem to happen to most people who have their counters sealed when needed.

The first three pictures are fairly representative of what friends with carrera-type marbles live with, but their etches are not very noticeable when you walk in their kitchens. On the whitish marbles at least, those etches would not be noticeable in most light conditions to someone who's just walking through the kitchen. (I don't know about the third one that's brownish--I've never seen anyone with a polished counter in that color of marble.)

A good friend of mine has carrera counters in her kitchen that gets lots of light, and she has hundreds of etches. Unless you bend your head and crane your neck to look for them, you won't notice them. Her honed finish makes a big difference to this--with a polished finish, the difference in finish between the etch and the rest of the counter will be more noticeable. She also doesn't have direct sunlight hitting them through most of the day.

I also have marble counters, but they're dolomitic marble, so they're a bit slower to etch. In other words, we can spill lemon juice on them, and it won't etch if we wipe if up within a few minutes. Our counters are just as soft as non-dolomitic marble in most places, and we have thousands of tiny scratches on our polished finish counters. Most of them are like the ones visible in the fourth picture, and with the veining of our counters, they're not noticeable unless you look for them. Over time, the polished finish is developing its "patina" and getting less shiny. They're still gorgeous, and I'd do them again in a heartbeat. But I would not have risked polished counters with carrera. I did want to mention the scratching because I think it sometimes gets overlooked as people worry about etching. Both will happen to marble, no matter how much you baby it.

I've had Carrara marble for a year now, NO REGRETS! Honed surface. The key is the lighting. If you have hard light in your kitchen, like the counter against a window, probable not a good choice. If you could see the reflection like a mirror to an outside window (without being in an unnatural position), probably not a good choice. This is where you WILL notice etching. My counters are against window less walls. Diffused LED lights from directly above. No etching shows at all. Seal them and staining is not an issue. Counters look and FEEL awesome. Silky smooth. Can't walk through the kitchen without admiring at them!

Mir14, any pictures of your Carrara Marble counters in your kitchen?

KateB - that is exactly the kitchen I am finishing up; white inset cabinets, honed carrera marble countertops, white subway tile backsplash, dark walnut floors. Pretty close to being done (I hope), will post pics when then. So far am very happy with all my choices.

Will seal (wipe on) countertops to minimize/prevent staining & picked honed to minimize etching. There is a depth, 3-dimensional appearance to the carrera that none of the synthetics had. Could not find an imposter that was close enough for me.

Edited to correct content (TY mayflowers) and add link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Benefit of sealing

This post was edited by mdln on Sat, Oct 11, 14 at 12:20

Mdln, it's been my understanding that sealing won't do a thing for etching. It's only for stains. I'm sure I've read it here, and my fabricator said there's nothing that will prevent etching. Or impact marks and chips.

May flowers - you are correct, when editing my post I cut too much, meant to say ''prevent staining and picked honed to minimize etching.'' Going to fix the post.

I generally write posts and edit to eliminate ''waste words.'' Find it easier to read short posts, sometimes get bored/confused reading long posts. Thanks for finding my error!